The subject invention relates to a seat belt assembly for securing an occupant to a vehicle seat.
Seat belt restraint assemblies are currently required for vehicles. A typical seat belt assembly includes a lap belt and a shoulder belt. The lap and shoulder belts are frequently interconnected to operate as a single unit having a single latch plate that locks to a corresponding latch or buckle device.
During certain vehicle deceleration, i.e., during a vehicle accident, sudden stop, and the like, the seat belts are designed to restrain an occupant to a seat. When restrained by the seat belt, the occupant loads the seat belt. The seat belt in turn transfers the occupant loads to a vehicle structure supporting the seat belt assembly. It is advantageous to transfer the loads experienced by the seat belts to the structural side walls and/or floor of the vehicle.
Seat belt assemblies for bench type seats must be designed to secure both side occupants and a center occupant to the seat. Hence, three sets of seat belt assemblies are utilized. The side seat belt assemblies are typically mounted to adjacent side walls of the vehicle and lock into a latch that is mounted to the floor of the vehicle. Hence, the side seat belt assemblies are supported by the side walls and the floor of the vehicle. An example of such a seat belt assembly is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,121 to Boone.
The center seat belt assembly has presented additional design challenges. In particular, the center shoulder belt has been difficult to effectively mount to the structural components of the vehicle without the use of additional obstructive frames or cumbersome restraint straps.
A prior art method of supporting the middle shoulder belt by providing a column extending from the floor of the vehicle upwardly behind the seat is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,452 to Grieger. Another method of supporting the shoulder belt for the middle seat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,611 to Boyd et al. The Boyd et al. patent discloses a retractor supported adjacent the top of the seat back with forces being transferred to one side of the vehicle and the floor of the vehicle body by additional flexible restraining straps.
The center shoulder belts are particularly difficult to secure in a pickup truck type vehicle which includes a relatively small passenger cab with limited space to mount additional devices.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a center shoulder belt which is secured to the side walls and/or floor of a vehicle without providing additional cumbersome and obstructive devices. In addition, the center shoulder belt should be supported to remain stationary when the bench seat is folded or tumbled forward thereby reducing the obtrusiveness of the seat belt assembly.
The disadvantages of the prior art may be overcome by providing a seat belt assembly for a vehicle including a floor, spaced side walls extending from the floor, a rear wall interconnecting the side walls with a seat supported by the floor. The assembly comprises a seat belt retractor for attachment to the floor. A seat belt extends from the retractor to a latch plate. The latch plate is adapted for connection to a latch for the purpose of restraining an occupant to the seat. The assembly is characterized by a tackle including tension bearing members extending from the tackle for connecting the tackle to the side walls of the vehicle. The seat belt is entrained over the tackle such that the tension bearing members transmit loads on the tackle from the seat belt to the side walls of the vehicle.
Accordingly, the subject invention provides for the transfer of forces on a seat belt in opposite directions to the side walls of a vehicle without providing additional cumbersome and obstructive devices. As an added feature, the center shoulder belt remains stationary when the seat is folded or tumbled forward thereby reducing the obtrusiveness of the seat belt assembly.